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We will remember them

Civil Servants in Scotland who gave their lives during the First World War are remembered in a new book dedicated to their sacrifice.

‘The Scottish Office: Those Who Fell In The Great War’ has been researched and compiled by Scottish Government employee Neil MacLennan.

It tells the stories of 79 men listed on four memorials in the Scottish Government’s headquarters at St Andrew’s House, Edinburgh.

Neil MacLennan said:

“Binyon urged us to remember them, and his words struck me while I was researching those who died. Of all the thousands of people listed in the registers who have worked for the Scottish Government down the years, most of those employed in the early days are long forgotten. Yet here we are in 2012 still remembering the few who are immortalised on our memorials.”

Neil was joined at the book’s launch in St Andrew’s House by Veterans Minister Keith Brown and Colin Lindsay-MacDougall, the grandson of Francis Howard Lindsay who is one of the 79 remembered on the memorials.

Francis was an Examiner with the Scotch Education Department who became a Captain and Temporary Major in the 14th Battalion London Scottish. He was 40 years old when he was killed on the first day of the Somme in 1916.

Keith Brown said:

“This book is a lasting reminder of all who fell in the First World War, and those who have served with our Armed Forces or been involved in conflicts around the world, past and present.

“While it is not possible to know the exact circumstances in which these men died, this enduring tribute ensures they are not forgotten.”

Francis Howard Lindsay was an Examiner with the Scotch Education Department from 1899, earning a First Division salary of £400 a year. He was a Captain and Temporary Major in the 14th Battalion London Scottish along with his brother, James, who survived the war after being wounded in 1917. Another brother, Michael, was killed some years previously during the Boer War.

Like many in the First Division, Francis had graduated from Cambridge as a Bachelor of Arts. He was 40 when he was killed on the first day of the Somme in 1916. He has no known grave and is commemorated along with several of his colleagues on the Thiepval Memorial.

Francis was survived by his wife, Helen Margaret MacDougall and his two children, John and Katherine. John went on to be a Major but was killed fighting in Italy in 1943. Katherine, who is now in her nineties, served as a 1st Officer in the Women’s Royal Naval Service and lives in Argyll. Katherine’s nephew and John’s son, Colin Lindsay-MacDougall also lives in Argyll and is available for interview on request via the number below.